biology and life cycle: Two or three generations a year. Adults hibernate in the soil. Larvae hatch in the fruit and tunnel within before leaving to pupate in the soil. Brown rot often follows, causing deformed fruit and premature fruit drop. Adults emerge from late July to October. Feed on ripe or fallen fruit until fall.

organic control: Spray with Garrett Juice plus citrus and garlic. First spray should be just before bud break in the spring, second spray after blossoms have fallen, third spray in mid-season. See appendix for Fruit and Pecan Tree Program.

insight: A common pest problem in chemically grown fruit crops. Incredibly heavy chemical spray programs have been used for this pest and still haven't achieved good control. The overall organic program including the use of pheromones will control this pest quite well.